ESTIA - A new chapter in the lives of refugees in Greece

UNHCR works with the Greek Government, local authorities and NGOs to provide urban accommodation and cash assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece through ESTIA, the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation programme, funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union.

Urban accommodation provides a normal daily life for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece, facilitates their access to services, including education, and the eventual integration for those who will remain in the country. The host population also benefits from embracing diversity through peaceful coexistence as well as the renting of their apartments.

Cash assistance restores dignity and empowers refugees and asylum-seekers who can now choose how to cover their basic daily needs. It also contributes directly to the economy of the host community through the purchase of services and goods.

Stories

Learn how ESTIA supports the everyday life of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece

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School opens doors to a new life for a refugee family in Greece

Ashti and Dilpak Jamal fled Iraq with their two children, Mohamad and Sara. They found safety in Sindos, northern Greece, where they live in an apartment under the ESTIA programme*.

Eager to make a new start and become a part of their community, all four of them go to school. Sara and Mohamad attend primary and secondary school respectively, Dilpak participates in language classes in the Blue Refugee Centre** and Ashti attends evening classes at a vocational high school.

In life, you need to keep learning. The Jamal family knows that and they are building their new life in Greece, with support from ESTIA programme.

*ESTIA programme is implemented by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners, with funding by the European Commission.

**Blue Refugee Centre is run in Thessaloniki by SolidarityNow and is supported by UNHCR, UNICEF and the European Commission.

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About

Financial Information

The Emergency Support to Integration & Accommodation – ESTIA programme is funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid.

In 2018, €155 million is available. This will allow UNHCR to gradually establish 27,000 places in urban accommodation by the end of the year. The majority of the rented apartments will be in cities and towns on the Greek mainland while up to 2,000 places will be located on the Greek islands.

The ESTIA cash assistance scheme aims to reach 45,000 people in 2018. Refugees and asylum-seekers receive a pre-defined monthly cash grant through a dedicated cash card. This allows them to meet their basic needs as they choose, with dignity, while supporting the local economy.

In 2017 a budget of €135.5 million was available in order to provide 22,000 urban accommodation places and pre-defined monthly cash grants through a dedicated card to refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece.

Special thanks

To major donors to the refugee emergency in Europe – the European Union, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom – as well as to all government donors and private donors for their generous contributions. The financial support provided by donors who have contributed with non-earmarked and broadly earmarked funds, as well as for those who have contributed directly to the situation and the Greece operation allows to provide direct assistance and protection, and help find solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers. In this changing operational context, UNHCR is appealing to donors to provide contributions that can be allocated as flexibly as possible.